DiCaprio cooperates with authorities over 1MDB probe

Representatives for Oscar-winning actor Leonardo DiCaprio said his foundation would return gifts if they were found to be from Malaysian fund in probe. Rollo Ross reports.

▲ Hide Transcript

▶ View Transcript

Oscar-winner Leonardo DiCaprio's charitable foundation would return gifts or donations made to him or his ventures if they were found to have come from the Malaysian wealth fund 1MDB, which is being investigated on money laundering allegations, his reps said on Tuesday.
In his first comment on the probe, DiCaprio said he was cooperating with U.S. authorities to determine if money had come from questionable sources, according to the statement.
In July a Hollywood production company was accused in a U.S. civil lawsuit of using $100 million that prosecutors said had been diverted from the 1MDB fund to finance DiCaprio's 2013 film "The Wolf of Wall Street."
DiCaprio's representatives said he had first learned of the probe through press reports in July.
In August, the Hollywood Reporter published a story alleging that the actor's foundation had benefited to the tune of some $2 million from cash and in-kind donations made by a Malaysian financier, who was named in the U.S. lawsuit as being involved in the creation of the 1MDB fund.

Reuters is the news and media division of Thomson Reuters. Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Learn more about Thomson Reuters products: